Inhabited lands

Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau

AutodenominaçãoJupaú, Amondawa, Urupain, Parakuara, Jurureís

Where they are

How many

RO

115 (Funasa, 2010)

Linguistic familyTupi-Guarani

Identification and demography

The population of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau indigenous land is comprised of various subgroups - the Jupaú, Amondawa and Uru Pa In which are distributed in six villages on the borders of the Indigenous Land, for reasons of protection and security. Besides these groups, there are also isolated Indians such as the Parakua and the Jurureís, as well as two groups whose names are unknown, one in the Southwest (on the mid-Cautário River) and the other in the center of the Indigenous Land (on the Água Branca Stream).

The Jupaú translate their self-designation as “those who use jenipapo". The name "Uru-eu-wau-wau" was given to the Jupaú by the Oro-Uari Indians. There have been many names attributed to the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau: Black-Mouths, Cautários [referring to the name of a river], Sotérios, Red-Head, are all found in the historical literature and related to the geographical space or cultural and linguistic similarities of the Jupaú and Amondawa, or the Kawahib groups in general.

After contact, in the beginning of the 1980s, a significant population decrease occurred among these groups. The population went from 250, in 1981, to 89 in 1993, particularly among the Jupaú people. About 2/3 of them were killed off as a result of conflicts and a series of diseases that struck their villages, principally respiratory infections. In the years after 1993 there was a slight growth in the population, in part due to the demarcation, fiscalization and vigilance in the Indigenous area. The most significant increase occurred among the Amondawa population. In 1995 the population of the Indigenous Land rose to114 people; in 2000, it was 160 people; and in 2002 it was 168 people.

The Amondawa people stand out among the ethnic groups of the Indigenous Land as having the largest population growth, totaling 83 people. This can be explained by the improvement in their socio-economic conditions, since they have a considerable agricultural production, with technical assistance in the village of Trincheira (where they live), allowing them to build up their food security. The four Jupaú villages (Alto Jamari, Jamari, Linha 623 and Alto Jaru) have a total population of 85 people, among whom there is a non-Indian woman married to a Jupaú, an Arara woman married to an Amondawa, three Juma married with Jupaú and one Juma man (the Juma are in the village of Alto Jaru).